Chapter 26
“How is His Grace?” Dr. Ludley asked, looking anxiously over Cassandra’s shoulder into the room where Ewan was now asleep.
Cassandra glanced back as well. Ewan’s eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply and gently. It was good to see him breathing without difficulty, for once. In the last hour, she had noticed that his breathing was a little less ragged than it had been.
This gave her hope.
Perhaps they were not too late.
“I think he is improving a little,” she said, turning back to the doctor and Alaric. “His breathing is better, and he was able to speak for some duration to me without coughing.”
“You should not have let him speak,” the doctor said sharply, giving her a disapproving frown.
“I know,” she said, and she tried to look apologetic. She was sorry. But she also was not. She had needed to hear those words from Ewan. Especially if he did not recover. She moved closer to the doctor, lowering her voice as she glanced along the corridor. Thankfully, they were alone.
“It has been many hours now since he has eaten or drunk anything that was not approved by you, Dr. Ludley,” she said. “Could that be why he is improving?”
The doctor swallowed, then pulled the vial again from his pocket and held it up. His hand, she noticed, was shaking slightly.
“I have examined the powder,” he said, “and from what I can tell, combined with the duke’s sudden symptoms, I am ready to conclude that has been receiving doses of arsenic, administered in very small quantities over several weeks.
I found traces of the poison in this vial, but this dose would not be enough to cause the intense symptoms the duke has experienced.
Whoever has done this has most likely also been putting it in his food and drinks. ”
“Whoever has done this?” Alaric repeated incredulously. “We all know who did this! We all know who gave him the vial.”
The doctor looked at him levelly. “Yes,” he said. “But I am nothing more than a country doctor, and we are speaking about a man with titles, property, and money. I do not want to make any accusations.”
“Well, I am prepared to make accusations,” Alaric spat. “In fact, I am ready to march over to Christopher’s rooms right now and give him a good thrashing until he confesses to what he has done! He will not be allowed to get away with this!”
He even made to turn, but Cassandra put out a hand to stop him before he could go.
“Wait,” she muttered, once more casting her eyes down the corridor. She had a terrible feeling that they were being overheard. “If you confront Christopher now, that will only give him a chance to destroy all the evidence, burn any letters, and possibly even flee.”
“What do you suggest that we do, then?” he asked.
“I suggest that we try to catch him in the act,” Cassandra said, tilting her chin up defiantly.
“Catch him in the act?” Alaric sounded skeptical. “Do you really think such a thing is possible?”
“I do,” Cassandra insisted.
“And meanwhile, I will continue to treat the duke,” Dr. Ludley said.
“I can slowly start to counteract the poison, and as long as he does not take any more, I believe that we will be able to reverse the adverse effects—although it is possible they will never be fully reversed. It is essential, however, that Lord Christopher does not learn of my course of treatment. He must continue to think that the duke is getting worse. Otherwise he may become desperate and attempt another, less subtle means, of ending the duke’s life. ”
Cassandra nodded. “I can do that,” she murmured. “All that matters now is curing the duke, catching Christopher, and making sure he is behind bars.”
No time to think about Ewan’s words to me earlier, she told herself. She couldn’t be distracted, not now.
But if they cured him, if they eliminated the threat to his life, then she would finally have the chance to tell him how she felt, as well.
***
Her mother arrived that night from Edinburgh, where she and Lord Pembury had been attending political dinners with different lairds and their wives. She came alone, and when she swept into Cassandra’s bedchamber, her expression was grim.
“My daughter,” she murmured, crossing the room in a few strides and taking Cassandra into her arms. “I got your letter and came as soon as I could. Your father was worried, but I told him not to concern himself with it, that it was a problem amongst women.”
“So you did not tell him that the duke is ill?” Cassandra asked.
“Of course not,” Lady Pembury said, holding her at arm’s length and raising an eyebrow. “I am not a fool. Your father would use that as an excuse to maneuver politically, perhaps even stop putting pressure on the lairds to adopt new farming techniques.”
Cassandra blinked. She had not expected her mother to be so politically savvy.
Lady Pembury smiled wryly, as if reading her mind.
“I have spent twenty-five years on your father’s arm, my dear. I know how and when to reveal information, when best to dole out both good and bad news.” She led Cassandra over to the dressing table and sat her down. “Now, tell me what exactly is wrong with the duke.”
Cassandra explained everything: When Ewan had first become ill, his declining health, and finally the diagnosis from the doctor. Lady Pembury listened calmly, although even she could not disguise her shock when Cassandra revealed that it had been Christopher all along who was poisoning his brother.
“Arsenic,” she murmured, shaking her head in shock. “I thought I had seen it all, but I suppose even I can be surprised by the ambition of the ton.”
“I admit I have been in shock myself,” Cassandra said. “I did not want to believe it. I was almost married to him, Mama. Can you imagine? Spending my life with a man capable of such a thing?”
Lady Pembury’s jaw tightened, and her eyes flashed with anger. “I think it was a very good thing, then, that he ran away when he did, and you ended up married to the duke. Although I would be wary, my child. If the duke dies, it is possible Lord Christopher will wish to marry you.”
“But you would not allow that!” Cassandra said.
“No, of course not,” her mother said. “But now that we know what he is capable of, you have to be careful. He could try to poison you, as well. Especially if he suspects you might be with child.”
Cassandra swallowed. “There is no chance of that,” she muttered, looking down at her hands. When she looked up, her mother’s eyebrow was raised.
“None at all?”
“None at all,” Cassandra said, and she was unable to keep some of the bitterness from her voice.
There was a short silence. “I see,” Lady Pembury said at last. “Well, I hope that things can change after the duke recovers. And he will. I trust that you and the doctor will be able to save him.”
“But that is where I need your help, Mama,” Cassandra said, taking her mother’s hands and pressing them.
“I need someone to keep Christopher distracted, and you are the perfect person to do so. You can play the part of the worried mother-in-law. Keep him answering your questions and regaling him with stories. Keep him close most of all. While you do that, Alaric will secure the rest of the evidence from his room and from any friends he might have in Edinburgh and Inverness. We just need to make sure that he is distracted so that he does not notice Ewan is improving.”
Lady Pembury nodded. “I can do that, my love.”
“Really?” Cassandra asked, relief coursing through her.
Her mother laughed coolly. “Oh, yes. I have been handling difficult men in drawing rooms all my life. What is one more?”
Something shifted in Cassandra, and she looked at her mother clearly for the first time in a long time. She had always had conflict with Lady Pembury, always butted heads against her mother’s insistence on duty and doing the right thing, sometimes at the cost of one’s heart.
This had always bothered her, even if she had eventually succumbed.
But she saw something different now: She saw a survivor. A woman who was shrewd and smart and knew how to navigate her way through hostile situations.
And for the first time, she admired her mother. Most of all, she felt lucky to have her on her side.
***
The next morning, Cassandra went to check on Ewan, relieving Alaric who had been guarding him overnight.
When she came into the room, he was still sleeping gently.
She watched for a while from the doorway as his chest rose and fell.
He looked so peaceful that it was almost possible to believe he was not ill, his life not in danger—that he was merely resting.
Then a wheezing sound escaped him, and he began to cough. As the hacking intensified, he opened his eyes. They were bloodshot as they found hers.
“Cassandra…” he murmured, as the coughing finally subsided. “What is going on? How long have I been asleep?”
“Shhh,” she whispered, as she padded over to the bed and sat down on the side. “Do not strain yourself. The doctor still does not want you speaking more than you should.”
“I feel much recovered from yesterday,” he said, peering up at her. “My lungs hurt less, and the fog… It is less overwhelming.”
“That is good,” Cassandra said, smiling down at him.
Unable to resist, she rested a hand on his forehead.
He was still warm, but not as hot as he had been earlier.
“The doctor is taking great care of you. He is giving you clean water, monitoring all your meals, and has even given you a binding agent…” She trailed off, unsure of how to explain what a binding agent was without revealing to him that he had been poisoned.
For now, she and Dr. Ludley had agreed it was better not to tell him.
In his delirium, he might reveal something to Christopher and alert him that they were onto him.
Fortunately, Ewan was still too sick to listen closely to her words.
“You are taking such good care of me,” he said quietly, and his smile was so warm and loving that she felt her heart flutter in her chest.
“I am trying,” she said. “I know that you would take care of me, if our positions were reversed.”
“I will,” he said, “once you are with child. Then I shall make sure that you want for nothing, that you are comfortable and rested all the time.”
This made her heart actually skip a beat.
Ewan had not mentioned children before, not like this, as if they were a certainty.
In his illness, did he not remember that they had not consummated their marriage?
That they were still to one another less like husband and wife and more like two people courting?
But she did not say any of this. She did not want to cause him any distress.
“Yes,” she said, stroking his forehead gently. “You will take the best care of me once I am with child. I am sure of it. We must get you better first.”
She was unable to keep the emotion from her voice as she said this, and he frowned slightly.
“What is wrong, dearest Cassandra?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“N-nothing. I am just… I made a promise to myself, you see, that I would not let you go. And I intend to keep that.”
Ewan grinned. “I am not sure you could get rid of me even if you tried.”
His eyelids fluttered closed again, and for a moment, she thought that he had fallen back asleep. But then he stirred, opening his eyes once more. They were focused behind her, on the door.
“Annabelle…” he muttered, and she turned to see the little girl standing in the doorway, clad in a white nightrail and clutching a stitched rabbit to her chest.
“Papa?” she asked in a small, squeaky voice. “I came to check on you.”
“Come here, my love,” he said, holding out his hands.
The little girl hesitated, and Cassandra assured her, “Do not worry, my dear, your father’s illness is not contagious.”
Heartened by this, Annabelle crossed the room to her father and climbed up into the bed next to him. Then she folded her body into his outline and rested her head on his shoulder.
“I have missed you, Papa,” she whispered.
“I have missed you as well, my little one,” he said, putting his hand on the top of her head. “Soon I shall be well again, and then we will continue to build the duchess’s garden. Would you like that?”
Annabelle nodded. “I should like that very much.”
A comfortable silence fell between the three of them, and soon, Annabelle had drifted off.
Ewan was not long behind her. After several minutes, the sounds of their rhythmic breathing filled the room, like a lullaby.
Cassandra stayed and watched them both. She did not want to leave just yet.
When they were all like this, she felt as if they were a real family.
As if all the worries, fears, and threats from the outside world had dissolved and melted away.
When the door opened half an hour later, she felt her stomach curl as Christopher stepped into the room.
He froze the moment he saw her, then his face split into an unconvincing smile.
“Ahh, Cassandra,” he said, his lips quivering as he worked to keep the smile in place. “I did not know you would be here.”
“Yes,” she said, and then realized that if her plan was to work, she had to appear less hostile. She smiled. “I was just checking on my husband.”
“But of course.” Christopher reached into his jacket pocket and drew out another vial. The moment Cassandra saw it, she felt as if she might be sick. He has come here to poison him. It did not seem possible to her that someone could be so evil.
“I brought this for my brother,” he said, setting it down on the nightstand.
“I know the good doctor wants to pre-approve everything Ewan drinks and eats, but I know this elixir works well. Doctors do not always approve of these ‘natural’ methods, but I would love to prove him wrong. So perhaps you will not tell him?” He winked at her, and her own smile grew harder.
“Of course,” she said. “Thank you, Christopher. Your care for your brother truly means the world to me.”
He bowed his head. “He is my brother. I would do anything for him.”
He had opened the door and was about to leave them when he paused. “Your mother arrived last night,” he said, the casualness in his voice clearly calculated. “I was surprised to see her.”
“Yes,” Cassandra said, turning to face him. “She has come to comfort me in my distress at my husband’s illness.”
“Ahh, and here I thought she might have come for another reason?” Christopher’s gaze moved to her stomach. “Perhaps to care for you during your convalescence?”
Remembering her mother’s words, Cassandra’s mouth grew dry. It was with some difficulty that she worked to keep the fear from showing on her face.
“Sadly, no,” she said, shaking her head. “The duke and I have not been blessed in that way. And with his illness now…” she looked away sadly. “I do not know what will happen.”
“Well, fear not, sister,” Christopher murmured. “No matter what happens, I will take care of you.”
It sounded more like a threat than reassurance. And with one last, sinister smile, Christopher disappeared from the room, leaving Cassandra feeling shaken and clammy in her chair.